Name: Summer Corn and Vegetable Soup
Total time: 1 h
Ingredients: ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for serving; 1 onion, chopped fine; 2 carrots, peeled and chopped fine; 1½ teaspoons table salt, divided; ½ teaspoon pepper; 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth; 1 (10-ounce) can Ro-Tel Original Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies; 3 ears corn, kernels cut from cobs, cobs reserved; 1 zucchini, cut into ½-inch pieces; 4 ounces green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces; ½ cup chopped fresh basil

Why This Recipe Works

Simmering stripped corn cobs in store-bought broth made a quick corn broth, which added a fresh summery sweetness to the soup. We scraped the simmered cobs clean and added the pulp back to the soup to capture the corn’s creamy starch and then pureed a small portion of the soup to add even more body. A can of Ro-Tel Original Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies added spicy warmth to the lively soup.

Before You Begin

If the corn cobs are too hot in step 3, use a clean kitchen towel to hold them steady while you scrape. Serve with lots of buttered crusty bread or cornbread.

Instructions

Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion, carrots, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper and cook until browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in broth, tomatoes and their juice, and corn cobs and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until vegetables are tender and soup is slightly thickened,  20 to 30 minutes.

Remove corn cobs and set aside to cool. Increase heat to medium. Stir corn kernels, zucchini, green beans, and remaining ½ teaspoon salt into soup and cook until vegetables are tender, 5 to 8 minutes.

Use back of knife to scrape pulp from reserved corn cobs; discard cobs. Stir corn pulp and basil into soup. Measure out 1 cup soup into blender and process until smooth, about 1 minute. Stir puree back into soup and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve, drizzling with extra oil.